Door-operating mechanism for dump-cars.



I W. A. GAS WE LL. DOOR OPERATING MEUHANISM FOR DUMP CARS.

Patented May 31, 1910.

APPLICATION PILED-APE.5, 1907. 959,459.--

Y 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ANDREW a GRAHAM co. PHOTOvLH'HDGRAPHERS, WASN'INGTON. 1

W. A. UASWELL. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMP CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1907. 959,459., I

Patented May 31, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. A. GASWELL. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DUMP CARS.

APPLIGATION FILED A-PR. 5, 1907.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- I IIIIIIII/IIII II' Patented May 31Mam/10111117111111!) mum!!!" 00.. mmmumocnnwnms. wAsNmuYqN. 0. a

W. A. OASWELL DOOR OPEEATINGMEGHANISM FOR DUMP CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.5, 1907. Patented 31 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ANDREW a GRAHAM G0 Pamaumocuwzn, wAsNmGwN. D. c

Patented May 31,1910.

5 sums-sum 5.

W. A.'GASWELL. DOOR OPERATING MEGHANISM FOR DUMP CARS.

APPLIOAIION FILED APILS, 1907.

ANDREW s. (imamno.1 PHOID-LITHOGRAPNERS. WASHINGTON, u c.

TTE

STATES PATEN OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. CASWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL DUMP GARCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

DOOR-OPERATING MECI-IANISIM FOR DUI [P-CARS.

osaeso.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM A. CAswELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Operating Mechanismfor Dump-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in new and useful improvements in operatingmechanism for the drop doors of dump cars, the precise nature of whichimprovements will appear from the following specification and claims,

taken in connection with the drawings form ing part of this application.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a carequippedwith door operating mechanism constructed in accordance with myinventions. Fig. 2 is a view of the door operating mechanism viewed fromthe side of the car and showing the cross girder in section. Fig. 3 is asectional view in elevation through the door operating arms andconnected mechanism. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of part of thestructure shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the dooroperating arms. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the fastening means for thecover plate. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8is a detail of a bracket for supporting the door operating arm. Fig. 9is a sectional View on the line 9 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction ofthe arrow. Fig. 10 is a detail of the rack operating mechanism. Fig. 11is a transverse sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 10. Fig.12 is a detail view of ing door operating shaft 7. Each door operatingarm consists of an upper portion 1 pivoted to the cross girder of thecar near the outer extremity thereof, the pivotal bearing beingindicated by the numeral 15, and a track member 2 pivoted to the part 1at the point 16. The lower end of each of the pivoted track members 2 issupported by a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application-filed April 5. 1907.

Patented May 31, 1910.

Serial No. 366,580.

allel to the main body of the arm, and the track member 2 above referredto is pivoted to said projecting part. The reciprocating door operatingshafts 7 are supported at their ends in carriages 3, and mounted uponsaid shafts 7 are rollers 14 adapted to contact wit-h the tracks 13 uponthe under sides of the dump doors. The carriages 3 are provided withhorizontal rollers 6 bearing upon the upper surface of the tracks 2, andwith vertical rollers 5 bearing against the side surface of the tracks2. A separate door operating shaft 7 is provided for each door, each ofthe shafts 7 being of a length substantially equal to the width of oneof the dump doors and extending bet-ween the adjacent cross girders.

Reciprocating racks 20 are mounted upon the pivoted track members 2.These racks are formed as shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings, and areprovided with recesses 21 wherein are pivotally mounted rollers 23 whichbear upon the pivoted track members 2, the latter projecting throughslots in the lower faces of the racks. By this construction the racksare free to reciprocate upon the track members 2. The stops 25 upon theracks contact with the bails 17 and limit the downward motion of theracks upon the tracks 2.

For the purpose of reciprocating the racks 20 I have provided pinions 27mounted upon shafts 28. These shafts preferably extend half the lengthof the car, one fourth of the dump doors being operated by each shaft.For the purpose of imparting rotary motion to the gears 27, sprocketwheels 29 are mounted upon the shafts 28 at the end of the car. Asprocket chain 30 passes over the wheel 29 and over a second sprocketwheel 31 to which is attached a hand wheel 32. For the purpose ofkeeping the racks 20 in engagement with the spur gears 27 during thereciprocation of the arms 1, I have provided supporting angle irons 35,which are secured to the cross girder immediately beneath the shafts 28.The construction of the arms is shown in detail in Fig. 9. Theprojecting lip 36 is designed to overhang the flange 37 of the shaftcarriage 3, as shown in Fig. 3. Secured to the cross girder 38 of thecar is an angle iron 39 hav ing a curved upper surface adapted to coactwith the curved under surface 10 of the arm 1, and take part of thestrain away from the pivotal bearing 17. As will be apparent from Fig. 9the upper part of the arm 1 recessed on the side away from the crossgirder, while the lower part is recessed on the side toward the crossgirder, the overhanging lip 36 being located in the upper and outerrecess and the bearing surface 40 and supporting angle 39 being locatedin the inner and lower recess.

The concentric circles 50, shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, represent aseries of telescoping shafts of the construction illustrated anddescribed in my pending application, Serial No. 352,195, filed January14, 1907. These telescoping shafts are more clearly shown in Figs. 13and 1 1. The largest of these shafts projects inwardly from the end ofthe car to the inner edge of the first dumping door; the shaft nextsmaller in diameter projects beneath the second dumping door and each ofthe other shafts proj ects beyond the next larger shaft a distancesubstantially equal to the width of one of the doors. All of the shaftsprojectbeyond the end sill and are graded in length, each shaft having acrank 51 attached thereto. Each of the cranks 51 is connected to aseparate lever 52 by means of a link 53 in addition to cranks 51 beyondthe end of the car above referred to. Similar cranks are located uponeach of the shafts adjacent the operating arms of one of the dump doors.These last mentioned cranks are provided with studs 55 which co-act withslots 56 upon the inner ends of the door operating arms.

It will be apparent that by lowering the crank arms 51 the studs 55co-acting with the slots 56 will permit the door operating arms to dropfrom the position shown at the left of Fig. 1 to that shown at theright. By operating any one of the levers 52 the door operating armsconnected to one of the dump doors may be lowered, thus permitting theopening of any selected door.

It will be seen that when the door operating arm 1 is lowered by themeans above described, to the position shown at the right of Fig. 1 ofthe drawing the door operating shaft 7 will be caused by gravity to ridedownwardly upon the pivoted track member 2 until the carriage 3 in whichthe door operating shaft is mounted contacts with the end of the rack20. The downward movement of the door operating shaft permits the dropdoor 10 to fall to its open position. In closing any of the doors thefirst operation is to rotate the hand wheel 32 in such direction as toimpel the rack 20 and with it the carriage 3 upwardly. The upwardmovement of the carriage 3 carries with it the shaft 7 and rolls 1%located beneath one of the doors, thus moving that door upwardly by thecontact of said rolls 14: with the tracks 13. hen the carriage 3 hasreached the upper limit of its motion and rests upon the part 18 of thearm 1, the lever 52 corresponding to the door which is being closed israised, thus through the connection of the lever with the operatingshaftraising said arms 1 corresponding to the door in question to ahorizontal position, as shown at the left of Fig. 1 of the drawings. Inthis position the carriages 3 have no tendency to move downward underthe weight of the door and load as the part of the track upon which theyrest is horizontal. Suitable means are provided for locking the levers52 and with them the arms 1 in their uppermost position and therebysecuring the doors in their closed position. The force necessary toretain the arms 1 in their upper position is comparatively small owingto the fact that the shaft 7 when the doors are closed is in closeproximity to the fulcrum 15 of the levers 1.

For the purpose of protecting the operating parts I have provided coverplates 60 hinged to the car side at (31, by means of pintles secured tothe side stakes or other convenient parts of the structure. The coverplates 60, as shown in Figs. 5 and (3 of the drawing, are provided attheir lower ends with hooks 62, which engage notches G3 in the loweredge of the arms 1. The cover plates have a slight outward movement uponthe pintles 61 when the arms 1 are lowered.

In order toeXpel any matter which may accumulate between the teeth ofthe racks 20, I form the space between the teeth with outwardly anddownwardly sloping surfaces, as indicated by the numeral (35 in Fig. 11of the drawings. The pivoted rail 2 is preferably connected to the arm 1by a joint similar to that shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

I claim:

1. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, and a pivotallysupported track supporting said shaft.

2. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, and a supportingtrack therefor, part of said track being movable from a horizontal to aninclined position.

3. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, an operating armcomprising a track for supporting said shaft, part of said track beingrigid with said arm and part being pivoted thereto, and means forsupporting the free end of said pivoted part.

l. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, an operating armcomprising a track for supporting said shaft, part of said track beingrigid with said arm and part being pivoted thereto, means for supportingthe free end of said pivoted part, and means for moving said shaft alongsaid track.

5. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a track therefor,part of said track being inclined and the other part being movable froman inclined to a horizontal position.

6. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a track therefor,part of said track being inclined and the other part being movable froman inclined to a horizontal position, and means for moving said shaftalong said track.

7. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a track therefor,part of said track being inclined and the other part being movable froman inclined to a horizontal position, a rack movable along said trackand operatively engaging said shaft, and means for imparting movement tosaid rack.

8. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a track adaptedto support said shaft, part of said track always occupying an inclinedposition, and means whereby the part of said track upon which the shaftis supported when the door is closed may be moved to a horizontalposition.

9. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a pivotedoperating arm comprising a track for supporting said shaft, part of saidtrack being rigid with said arm and part being pivoted thereto, a rackmovable endwise on said pivoted track member, means for moving saidoperating arm on its pivot, and means for imparting movement to saidrack.

10. In a car a plurality of dump doors, a reciprocating operating shaftfor each door, operatingarms for each of said shafts, each operating armcomprising a shaft supporting track, means whereby the operating arms ofany one of said doors may be raised and lowered independently of theremaining operating arms, and means whereby movement may be imparted tothe operating shafts to close the doors.

11. In a car a plurality of dump doors, a reciprocating operating shaftfor each door, operating arms for each of said shafts, each operatingarm comprising a shaft supportingtrack, part of said track being rigidwith said arm and part being pivoted thereto, means whereby theoperating arms of any one of said doors may be raised and loweredindependently of the remaining operating arms, and means wherebymovement may be imparted to the operating shafts to close the doors.

12. In a dump car door operating arms pivoted beneath and adjacent thesides of the car, a cover plate pivoted to the side of the car andextending over the ends of said arms.

13. In a dump car door operating arms pivoted beneath and adjacent thesides of the car, a cover plate secured to the side of the car andextending over the ends of said arms.

14. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a pivotedoperating arm comprising a track for supporting said shaft, part of saidtrack being rigid with said arm and part being pivoted thereto, a rackmovable endwise on said pivoted track member, a pinion engaging saidrack, means for moving said operating arm on its pivot, and means forimparting movement to said pinion and rack and for holding the rack inoperative relation to the pinion in the different positions of saidoperating arm.

15. In a dump car a door operating shaft, a supporting tracktherefor,-carriages upon the ends of said shaft, and rollers in saidcarriages adapted to engage the upper surface of said tracks.

16. In a dump car a door operating shaft, a supporting track therefor,carriages upon the ends of said shaft, rollers in said carriages adaptedto engage the upper surface of said tracks, and other rollers adapted toengage the side surface of said tracks.

17. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, a track uponwhich said shaft is supported, a rack mounted upon said track inoperative relation to said shaft, and means for moving said rack andthere by also moving said shaft.

18. In a dump car a reciprocating door operating shaft, carriagesmounted non-rotatably upon the ends of said shafts, and tracks adaptedto support said carriages.

19. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, inclined tracks pivoted tothe frame of the car beneath said doors, reciprocating shaftscooperating with said tracks and doors, and means whereby the tracksbeneath each door may be independently moved upon their pivots.

20. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, inclined tracks pivoted tothe frame of the car beneath said doors, a reciprocating shaftcooperating with said tracks and doors, and a series of telescopingshafts extending to the end of the car, each shaft being connected tothe pivoted tracks beneath one of said doors.

21. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, tracks pivoted to theframe of the car beneath said doors, an endwise movable rack upon eachof said tracks, reciprocating shafts cooperating with said racks anddoor, gears meshing with said racks, a shaft upon which said gears aremounted, a sprocket wheel secured to said shaft, a second sprocket wheelsecured to the end of the car, and a sprocket chain meshing with saidsprocket gears.

22. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, inclined tracks pivoted tothe frame .5 of the car beneath said doors, a reciprocating shaftcooperating with said tracks and doors, a series of telescoping shaftsextend; ing to the end of the car, each shaft projecting beyond the onenext larger in size a distance approximately equal to the width of oneof said doors, crank arms upon the projecting ends of said shafts, thecrank arms of each shaft being connected to the tracks beneath one ofsaid doors, and levers at the end of the car connected to saidteletracks cooperating with any one of said doors may be moved betweenan inclined and horizontal position independently of the tracks beneaththe other doors.

24-. In a dump car, a drop door, a track 25 pivoted to the frame of thecar beneath said door adjacent the free edge thereof, a reciprocatmgshaft cooperating with said track and door, a shaft pivoted in the frameof the car, a crank arm secured to said shaft, a stud upon said crankarm cooperating with a slot in the free end of said track, a leverpivoted at the end of the car, a second crank upon said shaft at the endof the car, and a link connecting said second shaft with said lever.

25. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, tracks pivoted to theframe of the car beneath said doors, reciprocating shafts cooperatingwith said tracks and doors, and independent means extending from thetracks beneath each of said doors to the end of the car for moving saidtracks between an inclined and a horizontal position.

26. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors, inclined tracks pivoted tothe frame of the car beneath said doors, reciprocating shafts coactingwith said tracks and doors, and means whereby the tracks may be movedupon their pivots.

V. T. JoNEs.

